


5 Bar Connection

by Elkian (SuperImposed)



Series: INFOBAR Lore [1]
Category: Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Alt Mode, Alternate Universe, Dare I Say.... New Canon?, Don't think about it too hard, Gen, Not Canon Compliant, The Plot is mostly to facilitate the reveal, Unbeta'd, heavily AU, s
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-12
Updated: 2018-07-12
Packaged: 2019-06-09 02:17:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,143
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15257229
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SuperImposed/pseuds/Elkian
Summary: Megatron has a revelation when he sees Optimus' - Orion's - true form.In retrospect, he shouldn't have been so surprised.





	1. This Matrix empty-

**Author's Note:**

> The idea came from a particular vintage Megatron toy and parts of the first Michael Bay movie, but the universe is more G1-flavored than anything.
> 
> On Tumblr: https://elkian.tumblr.com/post/175804879176/5-bar-connection

“Prime, don’t you dare!”

Megatron’s snarl rang across the battlefield, a field frozen in time as his eternal enemy prepared to do the unthinkable.

Optimus Prime met the towering warlord’s gaze, as calm as could be, as he held the Matrix aloft in one hand. The light that poured from it was enough to dazzle and halt almost every bot on the field.

“I won’t let you have it, Megatron. No matter the cost.”

The Decepticon leader bit back on an order to _fire, dammit_ \- there was no guarantee that his soldiers wouldn’t hit the Matrix even without the lightshow. Only himself and Soundwave seemed capable of even looking at the Prime.

Optimus turned to his nearby commanders. “Ironhide, I’m counting on you.”

“‘course,” the armored van muttered, barely audible across the battlefield, one arm blocking the light as he tried to look at his leader. “Won’t let you fall.”

 

Optimus turned, his arm drawing back, looking like nothing so much as a classical art piece as the burning blaze of the Matrix (and the lesser glow of his still-exposed own spark) set the world alight-

 

“ ** _NO!_** ”

 

The Matrix glittered like the most radiant gem as it hurtled through the sky. Broken of the spell by his shout, Starscream and a few others shook themselves and started forwards-

 

The Matrix hit the Star Forge.

 

Light _exploded_ from the surface, the whorling galaxy within burning so bright that it scorched plating, let alone optical relays. The concussive force of the destruction knocked every bot on the field onto their afts as Optimus - no longer and never again the Prime - fell from his perch…

 

Megatron had just reset his optics in time to see him begin to fall - Ironhide was already there, reaching out to catch his leader in his arms-

 

No. Not his arms.

His hands.

Pr- the former Prime’s descent was unfairly graceful, landing one-legged on Ironhide’s palm and stabilizing as the bigger bot brought up the other hand around him.

The _much_ bigger bot.

\---

“...how did you know?”

Optimus had inclined his head at Soundwave, something twinkling in those blue optics. “Soundwave is one of the best communications experts I’ve ever had the, ah, dubious pleasure of meeting.” Soundwave had dipped his own helm in a show of acknowledgement, but nothing further. “Even had he needed a physical comm piece to ensure a secure connection with you, he wouldn’t have chosen something so obvious.”

Disgruntled gray faceplates had scowled at the Prime across the quiet clearing. He couldn’t argue that.

“Your lack of appearances as the war dragged on - _especially_ as it dragged on - reinforced that guess. Because you would need the time and resources to not only set up, but ensure that everyone not in the know wouldn’t find out about it.” Optimus’ head had tilted to the side, and Megatron had _known_ the Prime was laughing at him, but… he wasn’t _laughing_ at _him_. “Our research indicated that hardly any bot in your army has met you face to face - most haven’t even seen you in public appearances. You only ever communicate with your own command staff over comm lines and the occasional data packet.”

Megatron had sighed and slumped against his subordinate’s deep blue plating. “Well done, Prime. You’re the first since Soundwave himself to find me out.” He’d told Shockwave, at least, and he knew Starscream didn’t know, because the tricky Seeker had never been skilled at playing the long game. He would have outed Megatron in less than a week (and then Megatron would have been down an Aerial Commander), either to take advantage of the knowledge or simply laugh at him.

\---

Megatron had privately wondered why Optimus Prime had not pressed that advantage, had not reminded the Decepticons how little they knew of their own supreme leader, or even so much as mocked him in private, let alone revealed his not-so-terrible secret..

Now he knew.

Oh, he _supposed_ it could have been because the Prime - the former Prime - was _just that decent_ of a bot.

But honestly, he thought to himself, as the former Prime straightened up in Ironhide’s hands, it was a bit of a relief to know that it was because Optimus hadn’t wanted to invite the very same onto himself. Because he was _biased_.

It was _definitely_ not because he hadn’t seen another of his own frame type since well before the war.

\---

Of course, that was all secondary to the _real_ issue at hand.

Suddenly annoyed by his own pretense, Megatron impatiently dismissed the hard light copy. Before his Decepticons could get too panicked, he detached from Soundwave’s helm, his loyal lieutenant raising one arm for him to stomp down. The projection flickered back to life, this time courtesy of the symbiote twins scrambling at Soundwave’s feet.

Megatron reached Soundwave’s outstretched hand, knowing that his exact scowl - his _real_ scowl - was being shown to every bot on the field. Laserbeak disengaged from where she’d been circling to wheel over, and a ‘split-screen’ closeup of Optimus joined his own.

The warlord crossed his arms and glared at the bot who was his mirror in more ways than he’d expected.

“What were you _thinking!?_ ” he snarled, several of the assembled, confused warriors flinching back - he’d never needed help projecting his _voice_.

Calm as still waters, the former prime folded his own, now more silvery arms and regarded his opposite. “I was thinking that when it comes to Matrix candidates, you’re as bad as they get, Megatron,” he said, nearly-as-deep voice booming across the field in turn. Then he grinned - grinned! - and indicated his own, true form. “Besides, you wouldn’t like being changed to suit Primus’ needs, let alone listen to His directives.”

“You think I can’t-”

"The Matrix changes the bearer, not the other way around," Optimus said mildly, arms crossed again. "And speaking from experience, you won't win a battle of will against Primus Himself. Especially not when you've never truly beaten _me_."

Megatron snarled, but before he could speak again, a sound he knew well split the air: sonic booms, heralding the incoming of the delayed Autobot gestalt just as well as the frantic patter over his comms.

“This isn’t over, Prime- no, not even that.”

“It’s Orion. Orion Pax. And you’re right - it isn’t.” In a blatant show of solidarity, the Autobot command team gather around Op- Orion and Ironhide. Megatron shot him one last glare before turning that gimlet gaze on his own soldiers.

“Decepticons… fall back.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2 explains a little of what the hell is going on.
> 
> (AO3 ate my summaries cause I didn't save and I don't feel like trying to remember all that so ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯)


	2. *EXPLAIN*

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is all trivia/headcanon/explanations.

**Size Classes**

I'm mostly mentally referencing G1 (which is admittedly.... not known for its consistent and on-model character depiction) and the IDW comics in terms of size. Here's what I've come up with.

 

Commformers: INFOBARVERSE Orion Pax, IFV Megatron. Half the size of Microbots/Cassetticons. Approximately **3 feet tall** (Megatron is 3'1'' and laughed about it until it drew compensating jokes), proportionately the size of a very large smartphone or a slim/small tablet.

Cassette/Micro class: Rumble, Frenzy, G1 Rewing, Eject. As tall as an adult human, double the size of Commformers. Half the size of Minibots. Approximately **6 feet tall**. Come to the knees on Mid-Sizes.

Mini class: IDW Tailgate, IDW Swerve, Windcharger, Gears, Brawn. About twice the size of an adult human or Cassette class. Half the size of Mid-Size. Approximately **10-12 feet tall**. In G1 this class sees a lot of variation. I'd say Bumblebee is 10 or maybe even more like 8 feet tall. Comes to the knees on Convoy classes.

Mid-Size: IDW Skids, IDW Rodimus, Sideswipe, Wheeljack, Prowl. Double the size of Mini class. Hits below the shoulder on Convoy class. Approximately **20 feet tall** , with a good amount of variation. Seems to be the most common size. Half the height of Shuttle class.

Convoy class: G1 Optimus Prime, G1 Megatron, Ultra Magnus, IDW Fortress Maximus, Overlord, Tarn. Notably larger than Mid-Size but not double their height. Approximately **25-30 feet tall**. Almost no variation.

Shuttle class: G1 Skyfire. Double the height of Mid-Size, significantly larger than Convoy class. Approximately **45 feet tall**.

 

TF in general really seems to hate exact measurements and after trying to make this I don't blame them. This chart is largely based off of IDW, especially the covers - Tailgate always comes up to about Cyclonus' crotch, and is shown to come up to Megatron's knee.

These sizes (aside from Commformers) are very approximate. Don't feel bad about bending them to suit the setting.

 

 **Notable Misc** :

Cusps: Trailbreaker, Ironhide, and sometimes Ratchet tend to be bigger than most 'Mid-Sizes' but smaller than Optimus. Hot Rod is often described as being barely larger than a Minibot, if that. Jazz is sometimes described as being a Minibot, but it varies wildly, so it's possible he's on the small side of Mid.

Cassettes _may not exist_ in the IFV, I'm not sure yet. That's why their size class is also referred to as 'Micro' - it's a classification I've used in (unposted  >.>) fic referring to non-cassette symbiotes.

Additionally, trying to come up with a size class for OP and Megs here without just straight up calling them Commformers is a hell of a headache (Commformers implies that that appearance is the only one of that size class and.....). Millibots and Nanobots don't really read well - and Nano usually refers more to what went inside Ultra Magnus in that early MTMTE arc - and anyways Milli is bigger than Micro, so... yeah. **_Please_** throw me a suggestion if it comes to mind.

While I say 'double' and 'half than', it's not accounting for the face that TF legs tend to be proportionately longer than humans, which definitely skews the scale a lot. So yeah, use best judgement.

G1 OP's Roller is probably Roomba or maybe like, beagle-sized. (So not bigger than IFV Orion...)

 

**What's a Star Forge?**

It's a cool-sounding super weapon referenced in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. I don't really remember what it does but I needed a ~~MacGuffin~~ Matrix-destroyer and it sounded right.

 

**Where the hell did you get this idea?**

I was going through [G1 Megatron toys](https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Megatron_\(G1\)/toys) while chatting with a friend (check them out, they're hilarious, but be warned, it gets really out there. My friend almost died when I linked the [Tank Head Megs](https://tfwiki.net/mediawiki/images2/e/e0/Alt-Modes_Megatron.jpg)) when I stumbled upon the [INFOBAR Megatron](https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Megatron_\(G1\)/toys#au_x_Transformers). I'd also liked the idea of the cellphone bots in the first Bayverse movie and had seen mentions of _hacking_ phones in other fic. The idea of a phone-sized Megatron being carried around by a bigger bot relaying all their orders about killed me.

I don't know why I decided to finally actually write something about this, but midway into the mental fic I remembered several comments about Hot Rod being sized up to carry the Matrix, and had the greatterrible idea that Megatron shouldn't feel alone.

Interestingly enough, I only noticed that Megatron accompanied an [Optimus toy](https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Optimus_Prime_\(G1\)/toys#au_x_Transformers) (2, actually) when checking back mid-write. There's even an OP toy that matches my half-baked idea of what Commrion should look like.

Initially the plan was human-cellphone-sized, but I realized that it would be kind of weird for alien robots to develop a camouflage that matches the size of a species they may not even known (in the first episode of G1 Soundwave pretends to be a streetlight on Cybertron...), and in the comics Nickel hands off a physical communication device to Scorponok at one point. So Cybertronic-cellphone-sized Orion Pax and Megatron were born.

 

**What do these characters look like...?**

I'm gonna go ahead and say 'don't sweat it'. I had a very vague idea in mind - in fact I prefer to consider this an entirely alternate universe to the existing canons (an upside to series like this and Zelda - there's so many variations to draw on and combine to make things that are both your own and yet feel authentic). My mental image of Soundwave was a little more dorito-y and even, like, closer to a civilian frame - I'm not sure yet but he might be more of a noncombatant - and maybe somewhere between TF Prime and TF Cybertron?

My recommendation is to pick versions of the characters you like best and blend them into a delicious smoothie. If I make a comment that doesn't match the vision you have, feel free to ignore it.

I will say that right now I'm drawing more on G1 and MTMTE than anything else, so that's my inspiration, but it doesn't have to be yours.

 

For your viewing pleasure:

**Megatron**

****

**Optimus Prime (Classic)**

****

**Optimus Prime ( ~~Future~~ ANNIN)**

****

I'd say Orion is closer to the second one in coloration (lotta silver and not as _much_ red as the Classic style) but since the Commformers are more Smartphone-based, the overall design doesn't match exactly.

Orion Pax and Megatron's builds are, in my head, very similar to their G1/IDW versions, but obviously built around 'be a phone'.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it'd make more sense for INFOBARVerse = IBV but IFV just looks better and honestly that's kinda the theme of this whole thing. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
> 
> Also there's a cool unused(?) video camera Megatron on that page and I'd love to see that be real.

**Author's Note:**

> The toy in question is the  _au x Transformers_ INFOBAR Megatron , in companion to their INFOBAR Optimus Prime, found  here  (images here) - be warned, there are some very strange things on this page. I about killed my friend sharing the head-tank.
> 
> Michael Bay movie the first had at least two different cellformers, and seeing the Megatron toy gave me the idea: what if Megatron was, instead of his usual imposing form, actually a teeny little cellphone, and the bot everyone assumed was the boss was just taking orders from him? And then it evolved into this.
> 
> Also I JUST found out about the accompanying Optimus Toy which I suppose shouldn't be a surprise.


End file.
